The killings of 27 men in Australia between 1976 and 2000 were most likely homophobic hate crimes, police say.

A New South Wales police taskforce has spent three years reviewing 86 cases in Australia's most populous state.

It was prompted by a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology that questioned whether police had investigated some cases sufficiently.

On Wednesday, police acknowledged that they had previously played a part in "marginalising" the LGBT community.

"New South Wales Police acknowledges without qualification both its and society's acceptance of gay bashings and shocking violence directed at gay men, and the LGBT community between 1976 and 2000," it said in a statement.

It added: "There were certainly people murdered because of their sexuality during this time."

Read more on BBC.